London, Autumn 2014
Artist Nadia Kaabi-Linke and the Dutch-born, Dubai-based designer Joseph van Helt met two months before the launch of Van Helt’s 2012 Winter collection in Dubai. In the fall of 2014, their paths crossed again in London, where Kaabi- Linke was preparing her exhibition The Future Rewound and The Cabinet of Souls, a multimedia body of work resulting from a critical inquiry into historical subject matters. The artist and the designer reconvened and repeated the copious conversation they already had two years earlier. Their exchange turned around the sustainability of fashion, erratic conventions, and the newness of the New.
NKL Joseph, you are a fashion designer from Amsterdam, and you have recently decided to move to Dubai, where you are developing a new fashion brand. Why Dubai?
JvH Everybody loves the sunshine – so do I. After living in Amsterdam and London for years, the decision to move to a country with an estimated 360 sunny days per year was not that hard to make, but the main reason had to do with my work. I was so tired of the seasonally changing fashion styles in Europe. As a result of the competitive structures of the Western market, the idea of consecutive and recurring fashions appears quite normal and has never been questioned. I got the impression that making things different isn’t a creative task anymore but just a mere demand of the market. The real reason to launch a new collection is not to create something new; it’s just about running the next product line.
NKL Let me get back to the traditional use of colors. In Islamic tradition, colors have particular meanings – this is the case with green and red, which are considered the colors of Islam. Indeed, most of the Arab countries have their flags either in green or red or both. Black and white are connected to symbolism, too. White is considered the color of purity and peace. This is the reason why worshippers wear white during the Hajj. The meaning of black became very important during the Abbasid Empire. In Shi’a countries, a black turban is worn only by male sayyids who descend from the prophet Mohamed through his daughter Fatima. Black is also the color of the chador worn by Iranian women. The black color of their dresses represents mourning and grief. Shi’a Muslims are supposed to grieve for Husayn Ibn Ali, who was killed at the battle of Kerbala. But if black is the color that represents the Shi’a for historical reasons, why is it that most, if not all, women in the Gulf region who mainly belong to the Sunni tradition wear black abayas? Of course, the abaya is very elegant and can suit almost any woman perfectly, but I mean, historically and culturally, what could be the reason for such a generalization?
JvH First of all, you already mentioned that black is an elegant color. Since it absorbs light, it also draws attention. When you wear black, you become the center of the world, and best of all, it makes you look slim. I guess this is the best point – it gives you a slender appearance. In female fashion, there are so many hidden tricks for looking sexy. High heels shape your body, and the black color gives you a slim figure. Fashion is all about drawing attention, be it traditional or modern gear.
NKL If I got you right on this point, you understand the color black more by its gender meaning and not by its cultural origins. Black is assigned to females, and white to males. Is that right?
JvH I have spent ages figuring out why it is like that. There might be many reasons, but the main issue is just a measure of practicability. I can imagine myself in summer in the Gulf at 120° F and 80 percent humidity – a thin, cool cotton would probably suit me best. If you go outside into the sun, white is a good choice since it reflects the light and it doesn’t get too hot underneath. Normally, fashion respects these functional constraints, but I decided to go further with my new collection. I wanted to cross the line between art and fashion, and I liberated the dress from rational constraints and practicality. High heels aren’t practical either, but they beautifully shape your bottom. Nor is a black dress in the sun, yet it makes you look elegant and classy. I opted for the abaya cloth because it gives you that slender appearance. This is the idea that black is the new white. When you go that far, there is no
difference between art and design. Since art does not follow any functions, fashion cannot be considered art if it does. Fashion can only be free when it becomes art. And really, art does not make you comfortable. It rather hurts you. As fashion does sometimes. High heels are real artwork, and my black line is, too.
NKL I think there are other constraints and still many differences between art and fashion…
JvH However, aside from any kind of difference, there are striking similarities. We distinguish ourselves from animals through artistic expression. On the other hand, a primate
wearing a robe has yet to be discovered.
NKL I don’t know if the two, humanity and fashion, are necessarily connected. Regarding what people are willing to do and suffer for just to be part of the latest trends, they sometimes seem to me to be quite like animals that got trapped. However, they get trapped by themselves when they obey the newest styles. Even worse, we pay for these things that, from time to time, are more bothersome than comfortable. You consider high heels art. But tell me, where is this trend going, five or even seven inches? Will they get higher and higher, or have we reached a physical maximum? As a fashion designer, you should have an answer to this question. The ladies will soon not be able to walk anymore. This, too, isn’t functional anymore.
JvH I don’t know the ambitions of these airy baronesses in seven-inch hot heels, but I admire them and adore their gorgeous and wonderful fetishes that are at once glorifying beauty and pain, elegance and torture. Super high heels tell so much about femininity.
NKL So you mean good looks deserve some sacrifices?
JvH Looking good is a sacrifice. That’s how it usually is: pass over the pancakes for the new pants! There seem to be just a few things that put people up to this kind of asceticism: serious advice from a doctor, belief systems, or fashion. Let aside the doctor, but belief systems and fashion have something in common. Both are cults. People fasting because of their beliefs or because of vanity may not be that different.
NKL In Europe, where people are less attached to religion, fashion has replaced religion in many ways. In quite the same way people once went to church, they are now frequenting gyms and wellness spas, and diets seem to replace fasting.
JvH Yes, old habits and rituals always find new forms and styles – even new colors. They are the newness of the New.
